Reviews

   Reviews: World of Dance

Janel Anicette 

(850/800)  

 

The new show World of Dance was aired by the television station NBC on May 31, 2017.The World of Dance is one of the best new shows for this summer. Hot and fiery Jennifer Lopez, shines as the executive producer of the new hit show and lead panel judge. Jennifer Lopez is as good as they come, with a lifelong career in the world of dance it was only fitting that she created a dance show. "Jenny from the block", got her start as a Fly Girl on the hit comedy show In Living Color.  From there, she moved onto movies and music and has an astonishing discography for a solo artists. With over 80 million copies of records sold worldwide she believes her success stems from her initial start as a phenomenal dancer. In an interview with the New York Times she had stated that," before I was anything, I was a dancer. It's so much a part of my trajectory." This new show hits it out of the ballpark and perfectly aligns itself with Lopez's trajectory. The show offers dancers the same opportunities J-Lo recieved from her first career. Exposure, fame and experience are all rewarding aspects and incentives that entised 47 acts into participating amongst this new style of reality dance television.  
     Lopez's passion is what ultimately inspired her to create an "Olympics for dancers". The best of the best in the world, all lay it on the line for the grand prize of one million dollars. A star studded cast that features famous dance groups that have worked with the likes of Justin Bieber, Beyoncé and have been champions of Uber competitive dance shows traveled from Venezuela, Brazil and even Japan. The competition is fought tournament style with divisions between youths( under age 17), upper( groups of 1-4, 18+) and team (groups of 5+, 18+). The winner of each division will duke it out during the division final. The panel of experts which include Jennifer Lopez, Ne-yo and Derek Hough score the acts using a precise point system developed by the “World of Dance” company.
     Using the following criteria they assess various genres of dance by: performance, technique, choreography, creativity and presentation. The competition consists of five rounds: Qualifiers, Duels, The Cut, Divisional Finals and the Grand Final. In the initial four rounds, dancers only compete within their division, but in the Grand Final the winner from each division  compete against each other for the one million dollars. Nuyorican, The company that created and produced the show World of Dance partnered with a brand that goes by the same name.The company “World of Dance” is a rarity. Its name is trusted and constantly grows as a dance and music entertainment brand. Utilizing social media platforms paired with star power, they've establish a successful digital presence  and have garnered more than eight million subscribers on YouTube.
     Boasting the world's largest international urban dance competition they have optimized and radicalized what it means to being a modern day dancer. With humble  beginnings in 2008, it came from being a single event to an international "continent-spanning, tour de force of human spirit and sick dance moves," according to NBC. These international events that occur in over 25 countries are the only reason why the show exists. Scouts traveled from competitions hosted by “The World of Dance” from the U.S., to Europe, to South America and Asia. The sensational performances and jaw dropping compilations of movement consistently held audiences rapt and gave the company an average of videos  30 million monthly views online. “World of Dance” has taken the internet platform by storm and is now one of the largest dance entertainment channels on YouTube, the company still continues to deliver and the show accumulated a spectacular 9.8 million views upon its airtime of 10 p.m. The World of Dance show does not conform to any class, any color or any creed. The show demands charisma, confidence and character, it's simply quality dancing.
     World of Dance differs from previous prime time dance shows. An article from the New York Times succinctly illustrated the unique distinctions between World of Dance with similar shows." The popular television dance competition So You Think You Can Dance, challenges contestants to perform a variety of styles in routines created by a roster of choreographers, the competitors on World of Dance perform their own routines in their preferred styles. And unlike Dancing With the Stars, which pairs celebrities with professional ballroom dancers, “World of Dance” features only dancers: no football players, washed-up politicians or former Playboy bunnies." The fact that the cast of the show is intensely passionate about dance and features only the cream of the crop is what makes this show phenomenal. Former backup dancer for Ricky Martin and Justin Timberlake, professional dancer Jenna Dewan Tatum host the show and perfectly encapsulates the essence of what it's like being a modern day professional dancer. "When I started, the dream was to dance for Janet Jackson. I've watched the dream change for dancers. Now the dancer’s dream is to be the star.”


Credit: NBC Productions

iPad (2017) 9.7 inch is Great for Entertainment

Author: Tran Soles-Torres

(828/600 word)

Apple Inc.

On March 24, 2017, Apple released the fifth-generation iPad in hopes of improving their large series of iPad tablets.  Apple currently has the iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini, and iPad Pro series, however the 2017 tablet will compete against other top companies such as Samsung, Google, and Microsoft.  Various internal improvements make the iPad (2017) an appealing product for consumers when it comes to entertainment.

There are various internal improvements when it comes to the new iPad.  One significant improvement is the A9 processor chip while the iPad Mini 4 (Apple’s second newest tablet) contained, a slower, A8 chip.  According to Apple, “the CPU [is] 1.6x faster

Graphics [are] 1.8x faster”.  This means faster music and video streaming, in addition to quicker uploads/downloads.  In addition the iPad has a faster cellular data processor than the Mini, LTE (21 bands) to LTE (20 bands) respectively.  According to Michael Grothaus, an expert on Know Your Mobile, stated, “You’ll primarily notice this difference when playing games or running productivity apps.”  Increasing the speed of games such as Clash of Clans and school related apps such as Google Classroom will appeal to many teenagers across the world.  Teenagers have a natural curiosity for video games and need fast loading speeds in order to play games and/or accomplish school work.

More system and tablet accessory functions on the iPad (2017) have been revamped as well.  The new iPad can take live photos and has retina flash, while the iPad Mini 4 cannot.  Live photos allow user to capture short stories when they apply 3D touch to the screen.  This opens up the doors for users to share more forms of entertainment wherever they please.

How does the iPad (2017) match up against the first-generation iPad Pro (10.5 inch)?  The iPad Pro defeats the newly released iPad in nearly all performance aspects.  The iPad Pro is also compatible with the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard.  The iPad Pro is not perfect, however.  On average the Pro has 9 hour battery life, while the iPad (2017) has an average 10 hours battery lifespan.  “WIRED” tech reviewer, David Pierce, noted, “Over the course of a nine-day vacation, I used my iPad [2017] for at least an hour each day, and occasionally for long stretches—on the transcontinental flight and during train rides, for example. I only charged the iPad once, for 15 minutes or so before leaving for the day, and again the night before our 11-hour flight home.”  Battery life is a huge component to a tablet.  The dimensions the iPad Pro are 9.8 inches (height), 6.8 inches (width), and .24 inches (depth) meaning the iPad Pro is slightly hard to carry around. 

The iPad (2017) also competes with other top brand tablets.  Most iPad series offer a variety of four colors: rose gold, gold, silver, and space gray.  Take the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, for example.  The S3 is Samsung’s newest tablet only comes with two colors: black and silver.  People love new colors, it’s only natural to most human eyes.  When it comes to storage the same story repeats itself.  The S3 is only available in 32GB storage, while the iPad (2017) is offered at 32GB and 128GB storage options.  Samsung also uses an older charging port compared to Apple’s new “Lightning Port”.  The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 does shine when it comes to performance perks.  The newest iPad (2017) has half the RAM and half the speaker power.  In general, the S3 outperforms iPads when it comes to processing chips.  Similarly, this means that music, videos, apps, and other downloads will process quicker on the S3 tablet.  One might still be asking, why even bother buying the fifth-generation iPad for entertainment purposes?

With various statistics regarding top market tablets being thrown around, the iPad (2017) does stand out in a unique way.  It’s affordable.  It’s release marks the cheapest tablet Apple has ever put on the market with a starting price of $329.  The iPad Pro is high tech, yet it costs $649 minimum and the S3 tablet costs at least $600.  Emily Ferron is an author at New Atlas and she explains, “Clearly [the iPad (2017) is] meant to be an entry-level device (at least as far as Apple products go) that still delivers all the iPad essentials without major compromises.”  Most likely, the typical consumer would want to pay the cheapest price.  Considering that the newest iPad does have modern features and costs about one half the price of its brother series and top competitors, it may be a good buy in terms of entertainment.

Overall the Apple iPad (2017) is worthwhile product for anyone looking for an entertainment tablet.  It competes with other top notch tablet from Apple and additional major brands.  The specs on the device are not compromised to a level where the user will have a negative experience, and the cost is 200 percent cheaper than the iPhone 7.